Rendez-vous Reimagined

by | May 1, 2020 | Features, News, Participants, Supporters, Uncategorized, Volunteers, Workshops

Rendez-vous 2020 will be going ahead 11-14 August 2020 – just in a different way.

2020 is turning out to be a year of the unexpected and that means Rendez-vous 2020 will be a Rendez-vous unlike any other. Due to the ongoing health crisis, we won’t be able to hold a large gathering in Calgary this summer. It’s up to us to dream together what it means to be a community of faith, even if we can’t all be in the same (physical) space.

Through real-time online events, recordings, and DIY workshop kits, we will celebrate bold faith, brave space and brazen grace. Here’s what you can expect:

  • Inspiring speakers, powerful worship and singing your favorite songs
  • Fun, engaging and interactive workshops and activities
  • New friends from across the country and around the world
  • Awesome t-shirts (yep, it will be a Rendez-vous to remember!)

While we get everything ready behind the scenes, here are some things we want you to think about.

  • How can we celebrate the bold faith of The United Church of Canada, even when love for our neighbours means we can’t all be together? How can we share our faith with each other and the world even as we care for each other – from a distance?
  • What does it mean to create brave space when the barriers to participation – health, geography, finance, and just plain internet access – are more significant than ever? How can we include everyone to celebrate our faith gone wild when we cannot gather?
  • What does it mean to accept brazen grace when we are living with so much anxiety? How can we transform fear and uncertainty into love and hope – for ourselves and for the world? How can we sit with those feelings when they can’t always be transformed?

We don’t have all the answers and we are going to need your help to reimagine Rendez-vous 2020. Even if we have to rethink where and how we will gather, we want you to remember that this is your church, your event, and your chance to change how we relate to each other across the differences that keep us apart. This is not just Rendez-vous reimagined, but church reimagined. And we want you to be a part of it.

Recruiting Young Adult Home Group Leaders

by | Oct 9, 2019 | Opportunities, Volunteers

We need your passionate and faithful leadership

Home groups are the heart of Rendez-vous: where the day starts and ends, where stories are shared and friendships are made.

Young adult home group leaders

You will

  • provide spiritual grounding, faith formation, and leadership development for groups of 10‒12 young people aged 14‒18 or a group of young adults 19 and up over four days
  • provide a duty of care, ensuring that youth are healthy and safe

You get

  • training, support, an awesome t-shirt, discounted registration, and an unforgettable experience.

To apply

  • Read the complete role description below.
  • Read the Statement on Inclusion and Diversity and the Statement on Indigenous Participation below.

Young adult home group leader applications close 31 January 2020 at 5:00 PM Eastern!

Read our statement on diversity and inclusion

Read our Statement on Indigenous participation

Apply to be a volunteer

Young adult home group leaders role description

Title

  • Young adult home group leader

Purpose

  • To provide a safe, supportive home group experience for Rendez-Vous 2020 participants aged 19-30

Duties

  • Host morning and evening home group check-ins for young adults age 19-30
  • Animate group activities, including ice-breakers and get-to-know-yous, spiritual practices and faith formation
  • Provide first-line support, guidance and orientation to Rendez-Vous 2020 participants

Time commitment

  • 4 days from August 1-14
  • 6 hours /day direct responsibility, but on-call throughout the event

Gifts and experience

  • You are 19 or older
  • You love working with young people
  • You have experience leading groups of young adults age 19-30
  • You have experience leading faith development activities and spiritual practices for young people
  • You are sensitive to the spiritual and emotional needs of young people
  • We value home group leaders who live and express the diversity of the United Church of Canada

Required training

  • Mandatory volunteer training (about an hour)
  • Two 2-hour training sessions:
    • youth mental health
    • facilitating spiritual practices and faith formation activities

Benefits

  • You get to be at Rendez-Vous 2020!
  • Work with a group of young people

Reports to

  • Home group leader coordinator

Statement on Indigenous Participation

by | Jan 9, 2019 | Opportunities, Participants, Supporters, Uncategorized, Volunteers, Workshops

We honour

At Rendez-Vous 2020, we honour the Indigenous communities, past and present, who have shaped and continue to shape the identity and mission of The United Church of Canada. We recognize Indigenous communities of faith as equal partners in The United Church of Canada.

We celebrate

We celebrate the important contributions of the distinctive cultures, languages and spiritual traditions of Indigenous peoples to witness and ministry of the church. We affirm the important role of young Indigenous people in leading the church towards respect, understanding and justice for all peoples and communities sharing the land.

Statement on Inclusion and Diversity

by | Jan 9, 2019 | Opportunities, Participants, Supporters, Uncategorized, Volunteers, Workshops

We Affirm

Rendez-Vous 2020 recognizes the contribution of many peoples and cultures in the body of Christ. We affirm that all are welcome to participate in witness and celebration of the ministry of Jesus Christ, regardless of race, national or ethnic origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, family status, genetic characteristics, and ability.

We recognize

We recognize the gifts and contributions of all in constituting the body of Christ. We recognize the courage of those who seek to join with us in celebration, and we commit to creating inclusive, accessible spaces that respect, welcome and reflect the cultural, ethnic, linguistic and gender diversity of The United Church of Canada.